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A long-delayed road extension connecting Angel Stadium and Disneyland Resort is opening before the end of the year - a project that officials say will relieve congestion, and a source of concern for nearby residents who believe traffic and smog will increase.

The $66 million project builds a bridge along Gene Autry Way, over the I-5, and is scheduled for completion by the end of November or early December, said Mark Vukojevic, city engineer for Anaheim. It's 98 percent complete.

Construction crews are working on final touches putting up bridge railings and fencing and adding traffic signals on Gene Autry Way and Haster Street, Vukojevic said.

On Tuesday, the smell of tar permeated a mobile home community and apartment complexes bordering the project on Haster Street as construction crews paved the road amid rows of new palm trees. Some 97 homes and four commercial properties were razed years ago to make way for the extension to Haster Street, about a half-mile west of the freeway.

Tracy Robinson, 28, whose mobile home is right against a sound wall separating residents from the road, said her neighbors are not updated on the type of construction work taking place.

"My son has asthma and so in the nighttime I wake up and I open the window. In the morning time when I come in my whole house smells like nothing but tar," said Robinson, who added that construction often makes the homes rattle.

The project has been in the works for years, but was delayed awaiting sufficient funding and the acquisition of properties, including part of the mobile-home park near its path. The extension was supposed to be done this summer, but Vukojevic said construction began three months late last January while crews worked to move gas and water lines.

"This neighborhood used to be very tranquil; now it's not," said Graciela Landeros, a 12-year resident of the mobile-park community. "I have like three days of headaches because of the odor."'

Ruth Ruiz, Anaheim spokeswoman, said the city has continuously worked with residents to inform them of ongoing construction. Since construction began two years ago, outreach efforts have included visitations, newsletters, e-mail blasts, and presentations in both English and Spanish, Ruiz said.

Once the bridge is complete, motorists will have access from car-pool lanes along I-5 to the Convention Center and Disneyland Resort on the west side as well as to Angel Stadium, Honda Center and The Grove of Anaheim on the east.

Gene Autry Way currently runs from Angel Stadium and slopes upward toward the I-5, ending abruptly at a traffic light.

Project officials say the extension not only gives carpools and buses more direct access to major event centers, but will also relieve congestion and improve air quality.

For Robinson, though, the completion will only bring a new set of problems.

"Right now it's the noise. Think about when all the traffic comes and all the cars and all the smog," she said. "And I see all these palm trees. Money can be used elsewhere."

Related Links

Workers continue construction on Gene Autry Way in Anaheim as they build a bridge over the I-5 freeway. Work is scheduled for completion in late November. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Workers continue construction on Gene Autry Way in Anaheim as they build a bridge over the I-5 freeway. Work is scheduled for completion in late November. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Workers plant a tree as they continue construction on Gene Autry Way in Anaheim as they build a bridge over the I-5 freeway. Work is scheduled for completion in late November. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Workers continue construction on Gene Autry Way in Anaheim as they build a bridge over the I-5 freeway. Work is scheduled for completion in late November. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Workers continue construction on Gene Autry Way in Anaheim as they build a bridge over the I-5 freeway. Work is scheduled for completion in late November. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Workers continue construction on Gene Autry Way in Anaheim as they build a bridge over the I-5 freeway. Work is scheduled for completion in late November. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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